Recycling The concept of green consumerism has gained momentum over the last decade. However, three essential keys are ne

Recycling
   Good morning’ everyone. Today, we’ll continue our discussion on environment protection. In this lecture we will focus on a hot issue—how to become a greener society. We hear it a lot in the news these days: "Recycle newspapers and save a tree." Protecting our delicate environment seems to be on the agenda of politicians, government leaders, and citizens in many parts of the world to show support for mother nature. However, I must point out that three essential keys needed to power this movement include a more informed public, the development of improved technology, and a greater demand for recycled materials.
   The first step is to raise public awareness about the recycling process , to explain the kinds of materials that can be recycled, to provide ways on how to properly dispose of them and inform the public of the harm of the traditional waste disposal method. So, what is the recycling process? Actually recycling is what we do with the objects we use in our daily lives. It is ultimately a creative act that involves thought and dedication to extend the life and usefulness of something once it has been used. Common objects that are often used only once are plastic containers , glass bottles, and newspapers, but most of them can be recycled somehow, and it is only our lifestyles and the ease of disposal that prevent us from recycling everything we dispose of.
   Then we will come to the ways on how to properly dispose of the rubbish. Take paper-recycling for example. Local governments should educate the public on how to properly sort reusable materials from those, like waxed paper, carbon paper, plastic laminated material such as fast food wrappers, that can’t be recycled very easily. Then, a system of collecting these sorted materials needs to be established. The public interest might be there, but soon may wane if there isn’t a system where they can take these materials to be recycled. Sometimes we become complacent when it comes to recycling, but when you speak in terms of actual facts and figures that everyone provide understand. People become more conscious of the problem. I remember reading one time that the energy saved from one recycled can provide enough power to operate a television for three hours. Give the public information they can grasp, and then you will increase your chances of gaining followers.
   What is the harm of the traditional waste disposal method? Digging big holes and chucking in tons and tons of rubbish on a daily basis is no solution. Who wants a rubbish heap on their doorstep? But the more the householders dispose of, the more we have to expand our municipal dumps, which often have to expand into agricultural land or green belt land. Waste disposal experts are certainly coming up with ingenious ways of dealing with the increase in consumer waste that this century has seen, but ultimately we have to tackle the problem at the root: each and everyone of us. As is known to all that a waste disposal facility is essentially a dump—just that, where end of the line rubbish is dumped and somehow treated, in order to speed its breaking down and dispersal, usually in the ground, or sometimes in other storage facilities. The common method is to bury rubbish, in a vast deep pit, which might be lined with plastic. When the pit reaches maximum capacity, some chemicals including lime are poured in to speed the process of breakdown , then it may be sealed, and covered. The modern means of operation is to then return the site to some kind of agricultural use. The rubbish is always going to be in the ground, and if this is our means of dealing with waste, we then must move on and find land in which to dig more pits. But, certainly, there’s never enough land to bury the rubbish.
   Second, technological progress has been made on many fronts, but governmental agencies need to step up their support for companies involved in recycling by providing tax incentives, low-cost loans, or even grants to upgrade equipment and to encourage further research. One breakthrough has been the development of a new manufacturing process that uses enzymes to help remove ink from paper in more energy efficient and environmentally safe methods. Recycling paper materials can be expensive in both monetary and environmental terms. The difficulty in removing print from paper, the amount of energy expended during the process, and caustic waste produced are costs that companies incur and then they are passed on to the consumer.
   The final key is to increase demand for the growing surplus of resources waiting to be recycled. This problem has appeared in various regions of the world where the technology to process the used materials lags far behind the amount being collected for recycling. There may be a great outpouring of support; yet the great stumbling block to implementing the second stage of this plan could be held up by the corporate sector’s inability to find commercial enterprises interested in using recycled goods especially when the cost exceeds those of virgin materials.
   OK, in today’s lecture we looked at the environmental issue basically concerning recycling. Recycling is a crucial link protecting our planet. The three keys mentioned above including a more informed public, the development of improved technology, and a greater demand for recycled materials are important ways to achieve this end.